You have to watch this. 10 minutes can mean different things to different people.

Great short movie. What makes it even more interesting/tragic is that this really happened. While the whole Muslim world was going on about their daily business, Parties, Movies, gatherings, people were suffering in Bosnia, waiting for the Muslim Ummah to wake up﻿, respond and stop this in human act of ethnic cleansing. Took long 6 years. Bosnia is still in shock

“And what is the matter with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, “O Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper”?”
[Al-Quran: Chapter: 4, Verse: 75]

And for divorced women, maintenance (should be provided) on reasonable (scale). This is a duty on Al-Muttaqûn (those who fear Allah). (2:241)

If we ponder upon this verse and more specifically the Arabic of this verse, Allah subhanna wa ta’ala says this is a ‘Haqq’ a religious duty and an obligation for those who fear Allah. [IE – Have taqwa].

One of the conditions of Imaan is to fear Allah subhanna wa ta’ala, no body can claim to be a Muslim and say they don’t fear Allah azza wa jal. However, to actually become one of those who are Muttaqun, you have to have a deep sense and recognition of that fear and be acting upon it.

In this verse, Allah subhanna wa ta’ala is saying that if anyone truly deeply fears Allah, they will provide for divorcees in a reasonable manner. And it should not just be limited to provision but should extend to kindness and dealing with them justly.

Thirdly, this verse is not directed just at the family of the divorcee but the society as a whole. The word, ‘Muttaqun’ is used which is plural.

In our societies this verse is rarely acted upon or much less known. Especially in the Asian region, a divorced Woman is considered the lowest of society and isn’t given her rights. Much less spoken to properly. Although this has been changing over a period of time, it still exists in some Muslim societies.

Two of my Sisters are divorced and I remember when we’d first visted Pakistan after her divorce a relative of ours blatantly pointed her out to another Woman loudly whispering, ‘Look, its her, the one who got divorced’. This was done in public at someone elses wedding we were attending.

This was a long time back, but it still shows the absolute state of ignorance some people are in. When my second Sister was divorced, we heard someone had said that it was a ‘family problem’.

Divorcees rarely get married again and have a stigma attached to them. It’s okay if her husband is abusive and an alcoholic and that going through everyday is hell – but God Forbid she seeks a divorce or he gives it her. As it is, any divorcee, be it Man or Woman has a difficult time dealing with seperation, they also have to deal with the crap from society as well.

Whats deeply saddening is that this view is held by a lot of Muslims, maybe ignorant-about-the-deen Muslims, but Muslims all the same.

If we look at the time of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam and even during the time of the Sahaaba radi allahu anhum, divorce was a common matter and divorcees weren’t looked down upon. Although it should be used as a last resort, when you’ve exhausted all means to stay married, it still is something you can use which is permitted by Allah subhanna wa ta’ala and the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam.

Anyway, one of the parts of assignment consisted of looking into the iddah period every Woman who is seperated with her husband either through divorce or his death or Khulda. And guess what, its different according to each Woman and her condition. Any fiqh which is related to Women is considerably so much more complicated apparently.

Oh and the person who bad-mouthed my Sister? Sadly, a couple of years later her own daughter got divorced too.

Tantawi goes and does it again. I can’t bring to call him Shaykh anymore. I am so upset at this I can’t even begin to put it into words.

Egypts reputed Sunni Scholar of Al Azhar, Yes, the famour Al Azher, one of the top most reputed Islamic Universities come out with the statement banning Niqaab in all schools and universities. And guess what? He doesn’t just stop there, he forcibly removes the Niqaab of a 16 year old in front of her classmates and then goes on to say something crude to her by commenting on her looks. He denys that Niqaab is a part of Islam [At the very least it is Sunnah]. Oh and he takes another step ahead by saying that he knows more about the religion then her and her Parents.

SubhanAllah… these are our so-called ‘Shyookh’ – he shows no respect for the haya and honour of a Muslim Woman which is sacred in Islam and then he shows arrogance when the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam has said that a Man with even an ounce of kibr in his heart will not enter into Paradise.

I’m shocked. Dismayed and saddened, not to mention, as a Niqaabi myself I can’t even begin to imagine how humiliated that girl must have felt.

We live in societies in which most men and women have lost their sense of modesty, women are obsessed with their appearances and wear clothes to be seen by others and to attract the attention of other men even if they are married!

They have lost their sense of shame. Marriage is often looked upon as old-fashioned and short term affairs and frivolous relationships are the norm, everyone waiting to attract a better partner and feeling totally justified to dump one partner for another at the drop of a hat. Feminism too has reached its peak and men and women are told to suppress their natural emotions. Men are not even embarrassed when their wives are dressed up and attract the attention of other men, they don’t mind if another man sees, chats, laughs and even dances with their womenfolk and if they do mind, they are told not to be so possessive!

In Islam we have a concept of Gheerah. Gheerah is an Arabic word which means protectiveness or jealousy. It is a good type of jealousy, like when a man feels jealous or protective over his wife or sisters and other-womenfolk and doesn’t like other men to look at them. It is a natural inbuilt feeling Allah has given men and women. The Prophet (SAW) had the most Gheerah for his wives and all of the companions were known for their Gheerah. All Muslim men should have a collective sense of protectiveness for Muslim women as Allah says in the Qur’an, the meaning of which is:

“The Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…” (Surah An-Nisaa, Ayah 34).

Men who do not care about how their women behave and appear in front of other men and don’t enforce hijaab upon their wives or women-folk are called Dayyooth. Being a Dayyooth is a major sin and a detailed discription of this evil characteristic can be found in adh-Dhahabee’s book of Major Sins (Kitaab ul-Kabaa’ir).

A story of Gheerah

To further understand the quality of Gheerah, we can look at an incident that Asmaa’ (RA) the daughter of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (RA) and sister of Aisha (RA), relates about herself. Abu Bakr was a wealthy merchant and he married his daughterAsmaa’ to the great companion Az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam (RA) who was a very poor man but a man of great piety and one of the companions who were promised Paradise. Asmaa’ relates:

“When az-Zubayr married me, he had neither land nor wealth nor slave…”, so Asmaa’ had to work very hard kneading dough, going far off to get water. “And I used to carry on my head,” she continues, “the date stones from the land of az-Zubair which Allah’s Messenger (SAW) had endowed him and it was a distance of two miles from Madeenah. One day, as I was carrying the date-stones upon my head, I happened to meet Allah’s Messenger (SAW), along with a group of his Companions.

He called me and told the camel to sit down so that he could make me ride behind him. I felt shy to go with men and I remembered az-Zubair and his Gheerah and he was a man having the most Gheerah . The Messenger of Allah (SAW) understood my shyness and left. I came to az-Zubair and said: “The Messenger of Allah (SAW) met me as I was carrying date-stones upon my head and there was with him a group of his Companions. He told the camel to kneel so that I could mount it, but I felt shy and I remembered your Gheerah.” So Asmaa’ declined the offer made by the Prophet (SAW). Upon this az-Zubair said: “By Allah, the thought of you carrying date-stones upon your head is more severe a burden on me than you riding with him.” (related in Saheeh Bukhari)

Look at the sense of dignity and modesty of Asmaa’! See how she felt shy in front of men? See how careful she was about her husband’s feelings? She knew that her husband had a lot of Gheerah so she didn’t want to upset him by accepting the Prophet’s (SAW) help even though the Prophet was the purest of men and even though it meant bringing hardship on herself! And look at az-Zubair (RA), even though he had a lot of Gheerah, he didn’t want to inconvenience his wife. What a beautiful relationship they had!

Nurturing our sense of Gheerah

Sometimes Muslim women don’t understand if their menfolk want them to cover their faces or if they ask them to change something about the way they dress or speak in public, thinking that the men are being over-protective. But my dear sisters! If your husband asks you not to wear a certain colour of khimaar because it brings out the beauty of your eyes, or if he wants you to cover your face – by Allah, be thankful! Be proud of the fact that your husband has a sense of Gheerah for you and that he values you and cares for your hereafter. He knows what men can be like more than you do and so never try and suppress his Gheerah in these types of matters. And his concern for you should incite your own sense of honour! Why should any man be able to see your beauty and think indecent thoughts about you? We must nurture our own and our menfolk’s sense of Gheerah by behaving and dressing modestly ourselves and paying attention to their valid opinions. We expect certain behaviour from them and they expect it of us. And besides, if our husband asks us to do something that it not Haraam, we must do it.

And Brothers! How can you allow your wife or sister to walk around attracting the attentions and evil-thoughts of other men? How can you not mind if she smiles as she talks to other men. Nobody has the right to enjoy her and her company but you and her Maharim men. You are not being overbearing if you first encourage and then enforce the hijaab on your womenfolk because YOU will be asked about it on the Day of Judgement and it is also a major sin upon YOU! It is upon the men to enforce these things in their homes and you cannot use the excuse that your wife didn’t want to. Women need a firm, balanced, guiding hand from their men, so with wisdom you must enforce hijaab in your home. You are a shepard and are responsible for your flock!

Allah reminds us all in the Qur’an, the meaning of which is:

“Oh you who believe, Protect yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones.” (At-Tahreem, Aayah 6)

There is a big difference between how Islam values and protects women and how cheaply women are treated outside of Islam! As Muslims we have to be careful that our Hayaa’ (sense of modesty and shame) and Gheerah don’t wear out in a society in which people have lost it.

I always find the sheer amount of Muslims gathering for Eid Prayers amazing. Our local Masjid is pretty big and can hold a few hundred people [Men] and on the Womens section we have windows where we can look down at them. And on Eid the Masjid is completely full with people from all walks of life respresnting Islam and its beautiful just watching and hearing the Men recite the Takbeer in loud voices. [On normal days the Imam tends to start the Mens Saff from the middle of the Masjid]

Anyway, Medina and Mecca hold some of the largest Eid Prayers mashaAllah, just watching this video sent chills down my spine. Not to mention, Shaykh Budair recites beautifully.

The only sad part is that regardless of how many in number we might be, we as an Ummah are still weak and struggling because victory does not come through number, but through having sincere and steadfast Imaan.